Acts of Kindness and Simple Pleasures

 Here we are in December. Wow. We were on the bus this morning and I was thinking about how it seems like it was just recently that I was looking at the fields of fireweed alongside the road, but it was months ago. We were on the Local Link bus, which goes through some very rural areas. The stairs on this bus are a bit steep, especially the middle one and there are several elderly people who get on in the middle of nowhere so they can get groceries. It always makes me smile to see the kindness shown to people, particularly these elders. When they return with their shopping, someone--either the driver or a passenger--will offer to help them out with their groceries. Today there was a younger guy who was helping. After he got off, someone else helped. And when we got off, Michael, the driver, took our bags off the bus for us. It's much appreciated by all because it's a narrow, steep journey from bus to sidewalk and it's good that everyone uses the handrail!

I put the coffee on when we got home. Last week Bill found an Irish place that sells flavored coffee beans. Not many, but a few good ones. This is a fairly new thing here. When we first got here, coffee wasn't much of a thing but through the years this has changed a bit. We decided on three bags of coffee--a chocolate peppermint, a vanilla, and a caramel. The coffee arrived within a day or two and Bill started with the chocolate peppermint, which we've been enjoying for the past few days. It's so good! It's nice to sit and sip--perfect for the season. 

I'm about halfway through a book about the history of macaroni and cheese, which I'm loving and eager to get back into. Last night I was starting a new knitting project and looking for my size 2 double points. I finally remembered where they were. I'd briefly thought about using my 1s which were ready to hand, but I wanted the 2s. Then I cast on, didn't care for the resulting fabric, ripped it out and started again with the 1s 😏 At least now I know where the 2s are when I want them again some day. I'm looking forward to getting back to the book and the knitting later today.

I hope that this first day of December is filled with simple pleasures for you too. 

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Caution! Danger Ahead!

 I was busy mending a pair of Bill's pants today when I was surprised by the postman knocking on the door. We don't usually get mail delivery on Saturdays, but there he was with a parcel from Kenny's Books, an indie bookshop in Galway. Bill opened it and handed me this book:

What a fun surprise! He said he was reading something online and an ad for the book popped up. Usually neither of us would pay much attention, but this caught his eye and I apparently came to mind at once. I can't imagine why 😉😏He went clicking around, found it at Kenny's and ordered it. Now it's mine and I couldn't be more thrilled! It's a book filled with art depicting women engaged in the dangerous activity that is reading. Here's the back:

It's so interesting to consider how terrified people have been--and still are--by books and reading. From limits to who has been allowed to learn to read, to what kinds of things certain people are allowed to read, books (and the ideas they contain) have always been dangerous to some people. And yet, books haven't gone anywhere. People try to contain and control books and their contents and they don't succeed. And how wonderful that it is so! I can't imagine a life without books and wouldn't even want to try. Bill and I interviewed a 106-year-old woman and her 70-something daughter a couple of decades ago. Both were readers, but the elder was unable to see well enough to read or hear well enough to listen to audiobooks. She talked a lot about what books meant to her throughout her life. She remembered a book about fossils that she won in elementary school (which would have been approximately a century before). She lit up when she talked about how excited she was when her very first library book was mailed to her very rural home when the library was new. She loved books, language, and learning. She was a teacher of French, among other things. Then she got married and her husband didn't want her to be too tired to take care of him when he got home from work, so she stopped doing the job she loved and was so obviously suited for. She kept reading though and I have always hoped that provided some consolation to her as she went through the years thinking about the other life she might have had. When we left, I sat in our truck and I cried. I wouldn't have thought it possible for me to appreciate books and my access to them any more than I already did, but I think after listening to her, I did. 

I know that I'll enjoy every minute I spend with this book. It and Bill are definitely keepers 😃

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Do We Need It?

 I came across this quote while I was reading yesterday afternoon. It actually speaks to an issue I've had conversations about at various times throughout the years. Although this woman was talking about a particular place, her words are relevant to many people in many places. As someone who has been asked about Thanksgiving recently, it seemed particularly appropriate to this time when many people will get caught up in the Black Friday frenzy of consumerism. I've watched as Black Friday creeps earlier and earlier each year--and it's expanded here since we arrived. When we left the US, stores were even opening on Thanksgiving itself, although in the state we were last in, it was illegal to do so, thus giving employees the chance to actually have a holiday.

To give a bit of background, Mary McNelis lived in a very rural part of Ireland. It's not far from where we live now, although we've lived closer in the past. Decades ago, she started a small shop selling machine knit sweaters, mostly for kids. She prefers hand knitting, but the machine was quicker. Her business grew and her kids eventually took over and expanded into other kinds of textiles. This is what she had to say:

Do we need it all? I suspect that the answer is usually no. I think the last line will stay with me for a long time. 'Because we were happy before we ever got it.'

Mary's story is included in this book:

I'm hoping to read more of it after I get the stuffing in the slow cooker. Do I need stuffing? I don't. Am I happy and thankful that I will have it? I am. That's one of the small things I'm grateful for in this life. There is so much more, large and small. If you're celebrating Thanksgiving today, may you have a wonderful day filled with gratitude and joy. If you're not, may this Thursday be a wonderful day for you, filled with gratitude and joy. 

Happy Thanksgiving/Thursday!

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Random Wednesday Words

 Yesterday afternoon, I caught myself thinking it was Friday 😕 I think this may be because in my mind, Tuesday evening was the start of holiday mode for me as we did what we need to do and now we're just settling in and getting ready to enjoy Thanksgiving tomorrow. 

We had the first Crafting for Christmas workshop (?--still not sure what to call these) yesterday. Just a few people came but it was nice to sit and chat and they had the hang of things before we left. Before that started, I went into the library, which shares a lobby with the art gallery where we were doing the huck gift tag. Both Bill and I had books in, so I picked those up. One of mine was this one:

It's about a tapestry weaving collective in Donegal. I don't think it's still in existence, but I'm interested in the history anyway. Bill has commented numerous times about the fact that when he goes to the library site to search for a newly published book, they never have any in a Donegal library branch. This isn't a new book--it was published 20 years ago--but you'd think there'd be at least one copy somewhere in Donegal. Nope. I requested it from elsewhere. Weird. I am grateful for the nationwide library system that allows me to request books from anywhere in the country.

Before we left to care for our furry friend in Killybegs, the buds on our Thanksgiving cacti were starting to grow. I actually considered taking one with us because I thought we'd miss the blooms. I decided not to because I figured the buds would just get knocked off in transit. When we got home three weeks later, I was happy to see that no blooming had occurred so we didn't miss it. The flowers have started to open now.

A little thing, but this, along with the blooming cyclamen a friend gave me, brings me moments of quiet joy every time I walk into the kitchen. May you have many such moments throughout your day.

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Saturday Snippets

 We just went and got our COVID jabs. When we first started getting them, I would have a reaction afterwards. It wasn't serious, but I would lose an evening with a headache, shivers, stuffy head, etc. Then after about the third one I had muscle pain in my arm for at least a year afterwards. Then we moved and the next one I had was a different vaccine and it was fine--no reaction at all except a slight soreness in my arm. I haven't had any issues since so I'm hoping that continues.

Thanksgiving is the one US holiday that we've continued to celebrate in Ireland. I mean, I know other countries have Thanksgiving holidays but we continue to celebrate on the US date. I've always loved Thanksgiving. Years ago I used to spend days preparing all the food. Sometimes it was just our small family and sometimes friends joined us but I loved having the leftovers so it didn't matter how many people were with us. Even though I don't prepare as much as I used to, I still make enough for a few days' worth of leftovers. But beyond the food, I love the vibe. It feels like a holiday to me even though here it's just another Thursday in November. As we were leaving the library on Thursday after the yarn group meeting, someone said, 'See you next week!' I said I didn't think I'd be coming because it's Thanksgiving. She said to just make stuff ahead of time and attend. Another woman asked if Thanksgiving is bigger than Christmas in the US. I said it was kind of the kick-off to the shopping frenzy that is Christmas. But I got to thinking about her comment and realized that for me, it is bigger than Christmas. I aways find Christmas kind of bittersweet because it's nearing the end of my favorite time of the year. Thanksgiving, apart from the actual giving of thanks, which is important, is just a joy to me. I love putting on Christmas music and preparing the food. The smell of stuffing as it cooks is much more a sign of the holidays to me than those awful fake cinnamon-scented pine cones and other yucky smells. As I was considering preparing some things early and heading off to the yarn group, I knew that I would feel rushed throughout the day and it wouldn't feel like a special day if I did that. It would feel like any other Thursday--which of course it is here. I did think, 'Well, I'm here now and maybe I should just consider it Thursday with a more involved meal than usual.' But then I thought, 'No. I love this holiday and I'd be sad to miss it--and I'd regret it later.' So I'll be staying home and having Thanksgiving in my own quiet way.

Recently, a friend was telling me that while she likes aspects of Christmas--she has a small tree and likes some of the music--her big day of celebration is the winter solstice. She loves knowing the light is coming back. This is the same reason why I have a tinge of sadness on that day--because I know the light is coming back. Yesterday I glanced out the window at about a quarter past 4. It was just starting to get dark. The cars had their headlights on. I felt a familiar peace descend upon me. I stopped to experience and enjoy it. There's something about that light at this time of year that just fills me with a calm joy. In that moment it dawned on me that the way my friend feels about the solstice is the way I feel about the day we move the clocks back. There's a short window of time between that day (which happens at the end of October here) and the winter solstice when the dark arrives early. It's the time of year I look forward to with great eagerness. It doesn't take long for us to start gaining daylight at a fair clip and every year I know that it won't be long before I'm smiling and nodding politely to people who are gushing about the 'grand stretch in the evening.' I'm savoring these short days and long dark nights while I have them.

I hope that whatever your day involves, you find moments of calm joy and inner peace, too.

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Should I Stay or Should I Go?

 Yesterday, the postman delivered this book. I'm eager to get into it.

Even this second edition is older now--from 2003--but I just learned of it a few weeks ago. Given the kind of writing this is, I don't think it'll matter how old it is. It looks like the kind of book that can be read a little bit at a time, so I'll probably start it today and do that. The way things have been for the last month, I have not been reading as much as I normally do and things are stacking up 😲Does this matter? Only if you're someone who's really, really wanting to dive into several books right now--and I am such a person. I have a couple of chunky classics that I left halfway through and am looking forward to getting back to. I hope to finish a library book today and have another one that I haven't read yet and one waiting for me at the library. I have 6 books on my NetGalley shelf that are going to be published early in 2026 that sound great. I have a couple of library e-books to read. And my e-reader is stuffed with e-books. The piles of my own books aren't getting any smaller. Yes, I have been greedy when it comes to books and I freely admit I have no willpower in this regard. Nevertheless, I am feeling a bit frustrated about this situation and I am hoping to get myself back on track. The bottom line is that I'm happier when I'm reading a lot and learning new things through nonfiction or immersing myself in good novels. I mean, one of the books on my NetGalley shelf is The Epic History of Macaroni and Cheese. I had no idea mac and cheese had an epic history, and I've been looking forward to learning about this for a couple of months. 

As a result of this, for the past few days, I've been thinking about whether I want to stay in the library book group. When we got home from dog-sitting, I asked at the library about the book everyone's reading. I missed the November meeting because we were away and it was just as well because I did not like the book and abandoned it after the first very long and tedious chapter. There were no copies of the current book left so the call went out on the group chat asking if anyone was finished and could hand over their copy. When I learned the book is Funny Girl by Nick Hornby, I looked it up and felt like I really didn't want to read it anyway, but didn't feel comfortable saying, 'Never mind' in the chat. After a back and forth between various people, a woman who isn't finished with the last book yet offered to drop off her copy of Funny Girl so I could read it and get it back to her so she could read it. She dropped it off on Saturday. I read the first section. I was not surprised to find it boring. I'm about a quarter of the way through it and have decided that my reading time is precious and I'm not going to waste it on books I do not like and have zero interest in. Those days are over as my time on earth grows shorter! 

Then I started thinking about the group in general. I learned about it in August, but after they'd had their meeting for that month. The first one I attended was in September and the book was American Dirt. It was a good book, but the discussion was pretty superficial. The next book was Charlotte Gray. The book was mediocre but the discussion was better. I missed the November meeting where the book was the tedious Prayer for Owen Meany. Now this one. I might be missing the January meeting as well if I stay in the group and who knows what the book will be. So my track record with the group isn't great. I have only liked one of the four books and the discussions have been a mixed bag. And honestly, I guess I just don't care what people think about this book because I don't care about it myself. The next meeting is two weeks from today so I don't have to decide immediately whether or not to withdraw, but I think I'm leaning in that direction. In the meantime, I will message the woman who gave me her copy of the book so she can have it back. 

It was funny, that moment of clarity as I was sitting there feeling a bit resentful about wasting my time on a book I don't want to read. I looked up at the piles of books I DO want to read and thought, 'What the hell are you doing? Put this book down and move along.' So I did. Now I will decide whether or not to put the whole book group behind me. I tried it. The people seem quite nice but the books sadly have not been. This may not be the best use of my time.

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Glad That's Cleared Up

 Last week, a woman from the art gallery next to the library asked me if I'd be interested in teaching some classes/facilitating workshops there. The most immediate thing was workshops in the weeks before Christmas, starting Tuesday, November 25. I said I'd love to do this and we agreed to speak again soon. I left thinking about a class where some skill would be taught and a project would be made using what students learned. Students would go home with their creation completed. This is how things used to be at the yarn shop where I taught. Those were multiple week classes though and this would be just a couple of hours so I was thinking small. But then I started wondering about how people would get materials and whether they needed previous knowledge about, for example, crochet. She'd said the classes would be a couple of hours and would be capped at 10 students, I think. In that time and with that many students, I wouldn't be able to successfully teach them to crochet from scratch and help them complete a project, which I thought might be frustrating for them.

When we spoke on the phone the following day, I ended up being fairly confused about what was happening. I chuckled to myself because it seemed to me that this was another example of two people speaking the same language and meaning different things. It's also the case that I'm not sure how these things work here. It seems to be different than at the yarn shop, which makes sense, since it's a different sort of place (and in a different country). Anyway, I'd said that I would make some samples and send her pictures. I made the samples and when I was getting the email ready, I explained my confusion, asked some questions, and assumed I would speak to her again today (Tuesday). I was hoping to have a better idea about what's going on. And now I do. We spoke on the phone and then she read my email. She addressed my concerns. She views this less as a class and more as a social gathering with the projects being part of it. She's apparently done this in previous years. She isn't concerned about people finishing a project. Aa for materials, for one gathering I'll be making kits since I have enough of all the necessary supplies--except for tapestry needles, which she has ordered. People can finish at home that way. The following week, people will be making crocheted Christmas ornaments and she will have hooks and yarn for people to use. At some point, we'll be talking about a longer grant-funded class for the new year so I'm thinking about possibilities for that. I'm pleased that things have worked out and I'm more comfortable now that I understand what it is people are coming to these gatherings for (if any do). The project next week will be a huck embroidery/Swedish weaving gift tag. We'll use aida cloth and I'm using size 10 crochet cotton because it's the right size for the cloth and it doesn't require people to separate the strands as would be necessary with embroidery floss--much less hassle. So the materials are a bit unorthodox, but the technique remains the same.

I think this will be fun. I hope I'm right.

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